The economic parameter of feminine charm

A recent study, carried out by a team of researchers led by Laura Kray, from the University of California, Berkley and published in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, analyzed the impact of feminine flirting during negotiations with partners of the opposite sex. Studies were carried out both in zero sum negotiations (in which the gain of one partner was the loss of the other), and collaborative negotiations.

The authors of the study examined feminine charm, seen as a perception management technique that combines a friendly attitude with flirtatious elements, within various types of negotiations that may occur in the business environment. In the first part of the study, the author refers to the recent wave of superwomen with key functions in global politics, and gives the example of Madeleine Albright, who has recently stated in an interview that she has often used her feminine charm in negotiations with various state officials. Thus, the study started from the premise that the weapons and techniques of feminine flirting may improve women’s economic performance during negotiations.
Un studiu recent publicat în Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin si condus de cercetătoarea Laura Kray de la Universitatea California, Berkley analizează impactul flirtului feminin în negocierile în afaceri cu parteneri de sexe opuse. Cercetările s-au efectuat atât în cazul negocierilor cu sumă zero – în care câștigul unuia dintre parteneri reprezintă pierderea celuilalt, cât și în cazurile de negociere colaborativă.

In an increasingly more competitive world women, after earning the right to sit at the negotiation table from an equal position as men, have imposed their values in most of the fields which were until recently inaccessible to them – politics, research, business etc. What most of us forget, when reading such studies, is that the history of negotiations between women and men is extremely short and therefore problematic. We could say, to a certain extent, that such negotiations are not embedded by the evolutionary mechanisms that have shaped our behavior throughout millennia, but are rather the result of the civilization’s evolution and of cultural efforts that have recently allowed for shattering the gender-related stereotypes. In this context, such studies are extremely important in order to solve the mysteries regarding the perception of business interactions and explain the mechanisms that occur organically in management processes or, in this case, in negotiations.

As defined at the beginning of the study, feminine charm includes a series of flirt associated characteristics, such as playful attitude, flattery, smile, visual contact or sex appeal and it has an instrumental function, which is to disarm the negotiation partner. In the context of negotiations, the woman often faces what sociologists call impression management dilemma: displaying a competitive behavior meant to increase perception on her competence (e.g., self-promotion during a job interview) often has social costs. On the other hand, the lack of a committed behavior combined with a neuter and collaborative approach may cause women to be perceived as less competent than men. To get a full picture, add to that the cultural stereotypes that have ridiculed women displaying a more aggressive (emasculated) behavior in business and the generally accepted perception that men are better leaders.

Considering that the discussion is built around the so volatile concept of perception management, the type and the stakes of the negotiation, the context and even the particularities of each participant are essential factors that must be evaluated on the spot. Most of the times, during negotiations, people use flair to evaluate such variables; on the other hand, one could establish behavioral patterns depending on the partners’ positions in various types of negotiations. Furthermore, the results of the negotiation can be influenced by other qualities that women possess – self-confidence, experience, physical attractiveness – which do not necessarily relate to the analyzed behavior but are assigned to them.

A balanced mix of flirting techniques and friendly attitude may lead to a better negotiation performance, that would benefit both partners. Prior studies (Kray&Thompson, 2005) show that women with a competitive behavior during negotiation are less appealing and are perceived as being more demanding than the ones that accept the offer without any other demands. Men, on the other hand, are relieved of this type of cost. Psychologists say that these perception anomalies stem from the fact that an aggressive attitude from a woman, during negotiation, threatens the status of men. If used along with social techniques, they lose their threatening nature.

It was proved that, when negotiating for a car, for example, women got a better deal when employing a friendly manner than when using neuter techniques. On the other hand, when negotiating in a complex context, with several variables (such as the negotiation partner’s state of mind) to take into account, the use of a more than friendly behavior has prejudiced women. Within this experiment, one could also notice the impact that feminine charm had on the mood of men – mainly, the mood improved in the context of a border flirting attitude. In zero sum negotiations, the use of such behavior was rather detrimental for the woman. For open negotiations, on the other hand, where the “pie” could be increased through cooperation, the results of the negotiation are more favorable for both parties. This perception has led to better cooperation between the two parties and to new collaboration opportunities. When the woman is more than friendly, the man has a better negotiation performance, while the woman’s performance is not affected.

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